Not Overthinking

Life Updates and Personal Milestones

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

In this episode we catch up on life with a few big updates about the kids and what we’re learning as parents. We chat about the projects we’re working on at the moment, how we think about entrepreneurship, and why meeting people in the tech world still matters. We also explore some ideas around education, including homeschooling, and share a few thoughts from a book on the history of marriage. Plus Ali talks about his recent dive into Harry Potter fan fiction and why it’s surprisingly fun to read.

Chapters

(00:00) Life Updates and Personal Milestones
(02:58) Navigating Parenting and Childcare
(05:53) Entrepreneurial Ventures and Business Goals
(09:00) Marketing Trends and Challenges
(11:59) Networking and Staying Relevant in Tech
(23:56) Reflections on Career and Future Aspirations
(26:46) The Authenticity of Networking
(31:11) Nostalgia and Reflection on Childhood
(34:26) Emotional Growth and Parenting Challenges
(36:50) The Joys of Team Sports
(40:34) Balancing Work and Family Life
(41:52) Exploring Education Options for Children
(43:48) The Evolution of Marriage Perspectives
(49:15) The Appeal of Fan Fiction

Taimur Discovers the Value of History

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:18:35 +0000

This week, we dive into the world of history, why it matters, how it shapes our understanding of society, and why ignoring it can be a mistake. Taimur shares how he went from not caring much about history to realising its importance in making sense of the world. We chat about historical consciousness, the limits of a purely tech-focused mindset, and why context is everything. Hope you enjoy the conversation!

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction and Personal Updates
(05:32) The Importance of History
(26:21) Understanding Human Affairs Through History
(33:21) The Importance of History in Understanding Society
(36:33) Navigating Historical Knowledge: Strategies for Learning
(39:09) Engaging with History: Finding Personal Relevance
(42:30) The Challenge of Convincing Younger Generations
(45:22) Integrating Historical Understanding into Modern Life

Dad Life + Healthy Habits

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re talking about the early stages of parenthood and all the chaos that comes with it. Taimur shares what it’s really like dealing with sleep deprivation, and we chat about why daily walks help keep you sane. We also get into the idea of liminal spaces – those in-between phases of life where things feel uncertain – and why they’re not necessarily a bad thing. Plus, some thoughts on sleep quality, fitness, and getting ready for big life changes.

Chapters

(00:00) Navigating Sleep Regression with a Newborn
(03:59) The Joys and Challenges of Parenthood
(07:57) Connecting with Community Through Parenthood
(08:18) Navigating the Baby Expo Experience
(11:17) Understanding Antenatal Classes
(14:24) The Transition into Parenthood
(17:11) Existential Reflections on Work and Life
(20:17) The Importance of Sleep and Health
(26:19) Incorporating Exercise into Daily Life
(33:02) The Importance of Daily Movement
(38:55) Overcoming Mental Barriers to Exercise
(44:54) Redefining Fitness Routines

Exploring the Meaning of Work

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 17:49:21 +0000

In this episode of Not Overthinking, Ali and Taimur sit down with Derek Sivers to explore the journey of entrepreneurship, the concept of 'enough', and the role of money in happiness. Together, they discuss true financial freedom, future aspirations, and finding purpose in work. Derek reflects on his experience after selling CD Baby, navigating feelings of loss, setting new goals, and embracing change. The conversation touches on creativity, the fear of leaving behind successful ventures, and the excitement of exploring education and productivity. Using the metaphor of breaking out of the atmosphere, they reflect on growth and the opportunities beyond established success.

(00:00) Introduction to Derek Sivers
(03:07) The Concept of 'Enough' in Entrepreneurship
(06:00) The Role of Money in Happiness
(08:54) Defining True Financial Freedom
(12:01) Future Aspirations and Purpose
(15:04) Exploring Problem Areas and Education
(17:58) Derek's Journey After Selling CD Baby
(21:02) Finding New Goals and Passions
(24:13) The Importance of Actionable Goals
(26:51) Exploring New Ventures and Projects
(32:33) Exploring Through Exploiting
(34:53) The Comfort of Coasting on YouTube
(40:51) The Fear of Change and the Unknown
(46:16) The Price of Freedom: Leaving Money on the Table
(50:43) Breaking Out of the Atmosphere: New Possibilities
(57:08) Embracing the Unknown: Preparing for Change

🎙 About the Podcast - Not Overthinking
Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models...things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

The Motivation to Grind

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 10:49:22 +0000

In this episode of Not Overthinking, Ali and Taimur dive into motivation, ambition, and the search for meaning in work and life. They chat about balancing personal fulfilment with financial success, the cyclical nature of ambition, and the challenges of staying motivated after reaching big goals. Along the way, they explore how community, values, and a clear vision can shape a meaningful journey.

(00:00) The Morning Routine and Mental State
(02:07) Finding Meaning in Goals
(06:01) Cognitive Limits and Intentions
(12:14) The Pendulum of Ambition
(18:08) The Economics of Content Creation
(23:46) The Price of Freedom and Lifestyle Choices
(29:48) The Fire Within: Motivation and Balance
(37:18) The Addictive Nature of Growth
(39:04) Finding Motivation Beyond Financial Success
(41:20) The Quest for Meaningful Goals
(43:58) The Role of Community in Sustaining Passion
(46:43) Internal vs External Goods in Work
(49:31) The Search for a Magnetic Vision
(52:48) Filling the Void Post-Financial Freedom
(01:01:18) Navigating Choices and Long-Term Goals
(01:08:49) Reflecting on Purpose and Contribution

Ali’s having a baby + Taimur sells his company

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:58:56 +0000

In this episode of Not Overthinking, we discuss our morning routines, the excitement surrounding new book releases, and significant life updates, including Ali's upcoming fatherhood. We delve into the emotional aspects of parenthood, contrasting experiences, and share insights on Taimur's recent acquisition of his startup, Causal, exploring the implications for their work and future plans. We also discuss the intricacies of business acquisitions, the startup landscape, and the balance between product development and distribution strategies. They reflect on the emotional journey of selling a company, the importance of personal branding, and the joys of new technology in family life. Taimur shares insights on navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship, emphasising the role of luck and timing in successful acquisitions. The discussion also touches on the impact of emerging technologies like OLED TVs and the Vision Pro on personal experiences.
Enjoy :)

Chapters

(00:00) Morning Routines and Grindsets
(03:01) Exciting Book Releases and Personal Time
(06:01) Life Updates: Expecting a Baby
(09:05) Navigating Parenthood: Perspectives and Experiences
(12:03) Work Transitions: Causal's Acquisition
(18:03) The Acquisition Process and Future Plans
(28:36) The Strategic Value of Acquisitions
(32:04) Navigating the Startup Landscape
(39:10) Product vs. Distribution: A Balancing Act
(49:16) Reflections on Selling a Company
(57:00) The Joys of New Technology and Family Life

Exclusive: Taimur Becomes a Father

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 09:36:18 +0000

In this episode of Not Overthinking, Taimur shares his recent experience of becoming a father, discussing the challenges and joys of the early days of parenting. He reflects on his role as a husband during this time, the adjustments he has made to his daily routine, and the emotional bond he is forming with his newborn daughter. The conversation also touches on societal perceptions of parenthood, the impact of having a child on work-life balance, and advice for future parents. In this conversation, Taimur and Ali explore various aspects of parenting, including the evolution of their philosophies, the complexity of generalisations in parenting advice, the challenges of choosing baby gear, and the balance between privacy and sharing their children's lives online. They discuss the ethical implications of parenting content and the influence of societal norms on parenting practices. The conversation concludes with reflections on the role of self-help narratives in fostering personal growth and accountability.

(00:00) Welcome to Fatherhood
(03:03) The Journey of Pregnancy
(06:03) The Role of a Husband
(08:48) Adjusting to Newborn Life
(12:03) Bonding with the Baby
(14:54) Reflections on Parenthood
(18:13) Entering Society as Parents
(20:47) Work-Life Balance as a New Dad
(23:58) Advice for Future Parents
(29:17) Revisiting Parenting Philosophies
(32:10) The Complexity of Generalizations
(35:51) Exploring Parenting Resources
(36:51) Navigating Baby Gear Choices
(41:44) The Balance of Privacy in Parenting
(46:01) The Ethics of Sharing Kids Online
(51:52) The Ethics of Public Exposure for Children
(57:08) Exploring the Manosphere and Its Impact
(01:14:25) Personal Responsibility and Self-Improvement Narratives

Lost in Ideology with Prof. Jason Blakely - Not Overthinking 🎙️

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode of "Not Overthinking," Taimur and Professor Jason Blakely dive into what ideology means and why it’s a big part of modern life. They talk about the limits of data in politics and how the stories we believe shape our views. They also discuss the challenges of staying objective and how ideologies like liberalism and conservatism shape our thinking.

(00:00) Introduction to Ideology and Guest Introduction
(02:45) Defining Ideology: Beyond Common Misconceptions
(06:42) The Non-Optional Nature of Ideology
(09:54) The View from Nowhere: Objectivity in Politics
(12:46) The Limits of Data in Political Analysis
(16:48) Rationality and Its Misconceptions
(22:53) The Role of Stories in Ideology
(29:11) Tech Bro Ideology: A Modern Perspective
(37:21) Liberalism vs. Conservatism: Core Impulses
(51:30) Cultural Socialization and Ideological Frameworks
(52:29) Exploring Ideologies: Limits and Intersections
(55:18) The Political Spectrum: A Misleading Model
(59:22) Understanding Fascism: A Revolutionary Right
(01:01:44) Steel Manning: Engaging with Opposing Ideologies
(01:06:47) The Ethical Call of Communism
(01:10:59) Navigating Ideological Discourse
(01:15:40) The Role of Science in Ideological Change
(01:18:03) Finding Common Ground in Ideological Debates
(01:21:51) The Human Experience: A Call for Humanism
(01:25:13) The Challenge of Understanding Rival Ideologies
(01:29:04) The Future of Ideological Engagement

Productivity Guilt and Hustle Culture - Not Overthinking

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:45:04 +0000

In this episode of "Not Overthinking," together with Mags, we explore the complexities of work-life balance, the pressures of productivity, and the cultural narratives surrounding success. We discuss the concept of being 'locked in' to work, the impact of societal expectations on personal goals, and the importance of finding fulfilment beyond traditional measures of success. The dialogue highlights the tension between pursuing passions and the realities of market demands, ultimately questioning what it means to lead a fulfilling life in a competitive environment.

(00:00) Introduction and Background
(03:01) Navigating Work-Life Balance
(05:56) The Concept of Being 'Locked In'
(08:47) The Pressure of Productivity
(12:03) Defining Productivity and Work Ethic
(15:10) The Hamster Wheel of Work
(18:12) The Role of Luck in Success
(20:58) Cultural Narratives Around Work
(24:09) Finding Enough: The Pursuit of Goals
(26:48) Artisanal Pursuits vs. Market Realities
(29:48) The Balance of Work and Passion
(32:58) Societal Pressures and Individual Goals
(36:14) Conclusion and Future Discussions

Marriage, Burning Man and Life Updates

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 16:12:17 +0000

In this episode of "Not Overthinking," we cover a range of recent experiences and future plans. Ali talks about his recent marriage, honeymoon in Costa Rica, and his time at Burning Man, where he learned the value of living in the present and taking hobbies seriously.

We also discuss Ali's move to Hong Kong, his plans to join local clubs, and our thoughts on aging. Our conversation touches on our shared interests in photography, filmmaking, and gear reviews. Additionally, we dive into my business venture, VoicePal, and Taimur’s reading recommendation, 'The Two Cultures' by C.P. Snow.

(00:00) Introduction and Catching Up
(02:59) Marriage, Honeymoon, and Costa Rica
(08:14) Understanding Burning Man
(16:40) Experiencing Burning Man and Reflections
(25:59) Future Plans and Settling in Asia
(27:05) Settling in Hong Kong and Exploring Hobbies
(36:06) The Appeal of Gear Reviews and Enjoying Time
(39:32) Finding Joy in Different Hobbies
(47:07) Updates on VoicePal and SaaS Entrepreneurship
(53:28) Book Recommendation: 'The Two Cultures' by C.P. Snow

Slop for the Algorithm - a Walking Podcast

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:09:48 +0000

In this episode, Taim and I discuss health updates, workout plans, protein tracking, the impact of my book, creating original content, and the challenges of tailoring content to algorithms. We also talk about the changing creator economy, over-saturation of podcast formats, increasing competition, finding a niche, and the launch of VoicePal, my ghostwriting software. Finally, we touch on the future of my content creation and separating my brand from the business.

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction and Outdoor Recording
(01:28) Health Updates and Workout Plans
(04:22) Tracking Protein Intake and Simplifying Nutrition
(10:01) The Impact of Becoming a New York Times Bestselling Author
(15:16) Work-Life Updates and Revenue Growth
(16:48) The Experience of Going Viral on Twitter
(21:37) The Satisfaction and Challenges of Creating Viral Content
(25:18) The Evolution of Content Creation and Algorithmic Influence
(28:04) The Importance of Providing Hard-Earned Insights in Content Creation
(31:40) Navigating the Saturated Podcasting Landscape
(38:00) The Rise of Industrialised Content Creation
(41:08) The Importance of Finding a Niche
(49:26) Books as a Tool for Cementing Ideas
(52:26) Separating Personal Brand from Business
(53:49) Introducing VoicePal: The Ghostwriter in Your Pocket
(57:16) Optimising Marketing Strategies with Engaging Ads
(59:33) The Future of Content Creation and Personal Branding
(01:00:36) The Benefits of Walking Podcasts

The Correct Way to be Human

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 23:24:54 +0000

In this episode, we explore the insights from a DEXA scan, the benefits of walking, and the development of VoicePal software. Ali talks about tweaking his exercise routine and diet, while Taimur shares his evolving views on politics and the importance of staying informed. We also touch on the joy of keeping a fish tank and the significance of engaging with the world beyond our immediate circles. Enjoy xx

(00:00) - Introduction and Body Composition
(03:18) - The Benefits of Walking and VoicePal
(08:23) - The Joy of Maintaining a Fish Tank
(15:21) - Changing Views on Politics and the Ideological Arena
(44:11) - The Interpretation of News
(51:30) - Guiding Children's Worldview
(55:29) - The Correct Way to Be Human
(01:02:31) - Caring About the World

Decoding Political Science and Ideology with Jason Blakely

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 13:35:48 +0000

In this episode, we chat with Jason Blakely, an associate professor of political science, discussing a range of topics related to political science, ideology, and the role of science in society. Jason critiques the approach of treating social sciences like natural sciences, highlighting the limitations and misinterpretations this can lead to. The discussion also delves into the concept of "Psi-ops" in social sciences, the influence of cultural and narrative elements in understanding social phenomena, and the distinction between natural and social sciences. The conversation critically examines the current ideological and cultural frameworks in society, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and interpretation in understanding human behaviour and social dynamics.

Enjoy! x

Navigating Work During Illness

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 09:15:46 +0000

Summary

In this episode, Ali and Taimur delve into a range of personal and professional topics. Taimur shares his recent experience with contracting COVID-19 for the first time, discussing the physical and mental effects of the illness. He talks about experiencing severe cold symptoms, fever, and an altered mental state that included persistent song lyrics in his head, particularly from the musical "Hamilton."

Ali reflects on his own past experience with COVID-19, particularly focusing on the lack of motivation to work or be productive during the illness. They explore the idea of how illness affects one's desire to "grind" and the role of dopamine and testosterone in motivation.

Further into the episode, Ali discusses his recent book launch, including making it onto the New York Times bestseller list, appearances on various TV shows, and his feelings of relief and validation following these achievements. The conversation also covers the concept of Productivity Club, an online community and platform Ali is developing, aimed at enhancing productivity through structured support and communal activities.

Takeaways

Experiencing illness like COVID-19 can significantly alter one's mental state and productivity levels.
The importance of motivation in personal and professional life, and how it's affected by various factors including health.
The satisfaction and validation that come from achieving major career milestones, like a bestseller book.
The potential of online platforms and communities, like Productivity Club, to foster productivity and create a supportive environment.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Taimur's COVID-19 Experience
05:03 - The Mental Effects of Illness and Song Earworms
10:33 - Ali's Reflection on Past COVID-19 Experience and Motivation
15:06 - Ali's Book Launch and Achievements
20:10 - Discussion on Future Projects and Direction
25:01 - The Concept and Development of Productivity Club
30:00 - Taimur's Thoughts on Online Platforms and User Experience
35:13 - Ali Expands on Productivity Club's Structure and Goals
40:00 - Further Discussion on Effective Productivity Strategies and Tools
44:57 - Closing Thoughts and Future Plans

Taimur's New Startup Idea

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 01:43:10 +0000

Summary

In this episode, Ali and Taimur catch up and discuss various topics. They introduce a calendar widget that allows users to provide feedback on meetings. They also discuss the value of experience and the misconceptions around being an ideas person. They reflect on their past impressions of fundraising, sales and marketing, delegation and outsourcing, brand deals and gifting, and book writing. Overall, they highlight the importance of gaining experience and understanding the intangibles in various fields. In this conversation, Ali and Taimur discuss the discovery of Zotero and the gap in the market for business coaching content. They also explore the value of zoom screen shares and internal dashboards in learning about business processes. The conversation touches on the importance of hands-on experience and learning from founders, as well as the process of book promotion and dealing with negative reviews. They also discuss the upcoming book promotional activities and the financial aspect of book sales.

Takeaways

Experience brings valuable intangibles that are hard to explain but essential in various fields.
Being an ideas person is not enough; having tangible skills and expertise is crucial for success.
Misconceptions about fundraising, sales, and marketing can hinder progress and understanding.
Delegation and outsourcing can free up time and allow individuals to focus on their core strengths.
Impressions of brand deals and gifting can change as one gains experience and understanding.
Learning from others and seeking guidance can provide valuable insights and improve outcomes. Discovering new tools and resources can fill gaps in knowledge and improve productivity.
Learning from experienced entrepreneurs and observing their processes can provide valuable insights.
Hands-on experience and exposure to real-world business situations can be more valuable than theoretical knowledge.
Book promotion involves various activities, including interviews, podcasts, and media features.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Catching Up
03:18 Introducing the Calendar Widget
09:06 The Value of Experience
13:50 The Role of an Ideas Guy
18:20 The Importance of Experience and Intangibles
23:21 Misconceptions about Fundraising
24:49 Impressions of Sales and Marketing
26:15 The Value of Delegation and Outsourcing
27:39 Changing Perceptions of Brand Deals and Gifting
29:27 Perceptions of Subscriber Count and Book Writing
33:10 Discovering Zotero and the Gap in the Market
34:48 The Rise of Alex Hormozi and the Business Coaching Market
35:14 The Value of Zoom Screen Shares and Internal Dashboards
36:20 Learning from Sales Calls and Emailing Processes
38:25 The Importance of Experience and Learning from Post-Exit Founders
39:44 Seeking Guidance from Those Who Have Achieved Your Goals
40:20 The Fluidity of Starting Something New
41:59 The Value of Hands-On Experience and Learning from Founders
43:30 Bookshelf Themes and the Productivity Genre
44:48 The Process of Book Promotion and Translations
46:00 Dealing with Negative Reviews and Imposter Syndrome
48:37 Preparing for Daytime TV Segments
49:08 Rehearsing for TV Interviews and Being Concise
52:00 Upcoming Book Promotional Activities
54:32 Earning Royalties from Book Sales
56:00 The Financial Aspect of Book Sales
57:25 A Plug for Lucia's Work and Job Opportunities

Catching Up and Talking Podcasts

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 14:09:53 +0000

In this episode, we talk about other podcasts and the future of the Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal podcast. Enjoy xx

Why did we stop posting?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 10:53:13 +0000

In this episode, we talk about the last five-or-so months of not posting any podcast episodes. Enjoy xx

What does Taimur actually do?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 25 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we catch up (and firmly put all the book highlight reading behind us). Merry Christmas! Enjoy xx

Why Love Hurts - Part 3

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 12:46:35 +0000

In this episode, we carry on our discussion of the book 'Why Love Hurts' once more. Enjoy xx

Why Love Hurts - Part 2

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 13:01:32 +0000

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the book “Why Love Hurts” by Eva Illouz. Enjoy xx

Why Love Hurts - An Introduction

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 18:05:58 +0000

In this episode, we discuss a few highlights from “Why Love Hurts” - a book which argues that our relationships go wrong due to 'institutional forces', rather than our dysfunctional childhoods or our insufficiently self-aware psyches (which is the more commonly accepted modern belief).

What psyops are out there?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss pysops: are things like 'eight hours of sleep a night' really necessary, or are we just unfoundedly made to believe them? Enjoy xx

Catching Up on the FTX Crypto Drama

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:47:51 +0000

In this episode, we catch up on the past 6 weeks of our lives, discuss some calendar hacks and then break down our thoughts on the FTX crypto drama that’s been rampant on Twitter these past few days. Enjoy xx

Catching Up + Book Discussion - The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 10:13:41 +0000

In this episode, we discuss what we've been up to since the last episode, and we also continue discussing the book we've been reading. Enjoy xx

Book Discussion - The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:58:24 +0000

In this episode, after a bit of rambling about our lives, we discuss Carl Trueman's book "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self". Enjoy xx

Our Journey into Spirituality

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the spiritual journey that we're both dabbling with. Enjoy xx.

Should we Platform Controversial Guests?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we ramble a bit about what’s going on in our lives, Ali’s recent discovery of Alan Watts, and the idea around whether or not we should give a ‘platform’ to potentially-controversial guests on our podcast. Enjoy xx

Taimur got Married: Life Update

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Taimur’s biggest life update in a long time. We explore the feelings behind being engaged vs being married, try to work out whether an expensive wedding is worth it, and a few other bits. Enjoy!

When is enough, enough?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the idea of ‘enough’ and where our drive for ‘numbers go up’ comes from. Enjoy xx

Search “One Sec” on the App Store and use the coupon code ALI15 to get a 15% discount on the premium subscription, if you want to pay for the premium subscription. Works perfectly fine as a free app too.

Faffing, Hiring and General Life Updates

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000

https://apply.workable.com/aliabdaal/

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Get the book here: https://geni.us/cyNM

Ali's Part-Time YouTuber Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/part-time-youtuber-crash-course/
Ali's Part-Time Creatorpreneur Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/creatorpreneur-crash-course/

How Our Lives Have Changed Through 3 Years of this Podcast

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 21:36:45 +0000

In this episode, we take a look back over the past 3 years of doing this podcast, and how our lives have changed since that fateful day in March 2019 when we decided to start recording “Not Overthinking”. Enjoy!

The Conversation that Changed Ali's Life (in theory)

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 09:59:56 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Ali's theoretically life-changing conversation with Will MacAskill, a professor of moral philosophy, about how to orient his career for impact rather than personal gain. Taimur is skeptical.

Watch this episode on YouTube (along with all our others) - https://www.youtube.com/c/NotOverthinking

Ali's Podcast - Deep Dive - https://www.youtube.com/c/DeepDivewithAliAbdaal (the interview with Will MacAskill should be out in August 2022)
80,000 Hours - https://80000hours.org/ali
Will MacAskill - https://twitter.com/willmacaskill
Will's new book - What we Owe the Future - https://www.whatweowethefuture.com/

Should we share our personal life on the podcast?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 15:00:00 +0000

In this first episode of the new season of the podcast, we discuss the extent to which we should / want to be open about our personal lives on the podcast. Taimur takes an unusual stance towards privacy, which Ali attempts to break down. Enjoy xx

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or if you've got a conundrum or question you'd like us to discuss, send an audio file / voice note to hi@notoverthinking.com.

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mind Viruses

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Taimur presents his new theory of Mind Viruses. We discuss the aetiology, pathophysiology and implications thereof. Enjoy xx

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Pathless Path

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss our friend Paul Millerd’s new book The Pathless Path, which is all about reimagining our relationship with Work and Careers. Enjoy xx

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pills & Paradigm Shifts

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the discourse around pills - Blue Pills, Red Pills, Black and White Pills - and share some of the ‘pills’ that we’ve taken in our own life that have led to paradigm shifts in our perspectives. Enjoy xx

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

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Exploring Taimur's New Relationship

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Taimur's new relationship! If you've got any questions about it, please do leave a comment down below and we'll maybe discuss them on a future episode. Enjoy xx

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Eye Surgery, Mind Chatter and Spirituality

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we do our usual life update (Taim’s just been to Turkey, Ali’s had Laser Eye Surgery), followed by a discussion of ego, which somehow segues into a conversation about mind chatter, and aspects of spirituality. Enjoy xx

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Thriving in Life

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the various ways in which both our lives seem to be going swimmingly at this point, and then meander around various business-type things around hiring, organisational design, culture and a few other bits. Enjoy xx

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Trying to Understand Crypto

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode we go over our histories with crypto, how we understand it, plans for the future and a short overview of NFTs.

Resources mentioned:

https://tim.blog/2021/03/08/vitalik-buterin-naval-ravikant/

https://tim.blog/2021/10/28/chris-dixon-naval-ravikant/

https://www.acquired.fm/

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Critiquing Ali's life choices

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode we discuss angel investing and going back to school. Taimur analyzes my life choices and offers some insight on my future plans. Enjoy!

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How can we find peace in our lives?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Taimur shares his continuing woes about his calendar. We discuss the zen, peaceful nature of Benjamin Franklin’s calendar, and Ali attempts to coach Taimur through finding more peace in his life. Enjoy!

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The Asymmetry of Cringe

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the philosophy of “cringe”, and opine about the shrinking of the “cringe” overton window, especially amongst the youth of today. Enjoy!

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Why are we running these businesses?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:00:00 +0000

We get back from a low optionality trip to Croatia and talk about how it went. This leads us to talk about why we’re doing what we’re doing with our lives.

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How to Setup a New Social Life

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Ali’s new move to the big city of London, and Taimur shares some thoughts on how to setup the optimum social life. We also end up talking about the power of calendars and Ali’s recent journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery. Enjoy!

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What is the purpose of group holidays?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:45:22 +0000

For the first time in the history of the podcast we have a six people on this episode - a new record for Not Overthinking. Given that we're on a group holiday in the Cotswolds, we discuss the purpose of group holidays, why they're different to socialising in everyday life as well as whether we should be doing work in these settings and how this might affect the experience of others in the group. Enjoy :)

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Do we have a specific personality type?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 23:00:00 +0000

After discussing why we've become consistently inconsistent in publishing episodes (sorry, not sorry), we spend the rest of this episode discussing the Enneagram - a model of the human psyche made up of nine interconnected personality types. Ali is fairly certain of his own type and so we move onto to trying to figure out which type best describes Taimur and ask how much can we really trust these types of test. Enjoy

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Why is agency a precious resource?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

We're back into our weekly schedule and in this episode, after diving into why Taimur has signed up to do a triathlon and why Ali suddenly wants a dog, we discuss thoughts on autonomy sparked by an interesting article by Simon Sarris which describes why agency is the most precious resource. Enjoy :)

Links

The Most Precious Resource is Agency

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Why are childhood memories so varied?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the podcast, after Ali explains the revelations he’s had about his business, we take a trip down memory lane. Following a family trip to the area where we grew up, we reflect on our emotional experience of revisiting the sites of our early childhood as well as the memories we have of that time. From lying on the floor to kiss chase to running away from home, we each seem to have certain moments that stand out from those early years. We talk about why certain experiences seem to lodge themselves firmly in our memory and the different factors that could affect which memories we keep and those we forget.

We’ll try to get back into the groove of publishing every week moving forward. Enjoy.

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What do debates on Twitter reveal about identity?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 08:00:00 +0000

After a short sabbatical from recording, we’re back once again. In this episode, we catch up with what’s been going on in our lives over the past few weeks before discussing why certain tweets end up becoming more contentious than intended and how identities can be revealed through how people respond to certain tweets. We also debate some of Taimur's recent book suggestions which Ali has found to be surprisingly good.

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Online Dating and Unconditional Parenting

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 09:13:42 +0000

After a few weeks away, we’re back with another episode that dives into Ali’s dating life and explores more theories and ideas around children and parenting.

We first discuss the etiquettes and expectations of texting on dating apps and what’s considered a ‘normal’ amount of interaction before asking someone out for a coffee or a meal. We then shift gears and move onto exploring Taimur’s theories around intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as the ideas from Unconditional Parenting – a book by Alfie Kohn that Taimur has been reading over the past couple of weeks.

It’s another wide-ranging episode but we hope you enjoy listening.

Don’t forget to leave us a review if you like the podcast :)

Links

Taimur's version of I'm A Believer

Unconditional Parenting

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Starting A Charity, Having An Impact and An Important Pledge

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 10 May 2021 17:56:08 +0000

This week we’re joined by returning guest to the podcast, Lucia, to talk about her charity work. We discuss her reasons for starting her charity, LEEP, her experiences since it was formed and the impact that it’s had. We talk about what motivates us to pursue different causes and where we can have the most impact and then finally, at the end of the podcast, Taimur takes a very important pledge. Enjoy :)

Links

LEEP Charity

Give Well

Essay - On Caring

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Guitars, WeWork & The Curse of Knowledge

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 03 May 2021 08:43:48 +0000

After a couple of weeks away, we’re back with updates on what we’ve been up to since our last recorded episode. From Taimur’s live rendition of Brown Eyed Girl to Ali’s discovery of WeWork to a conversation on the value of business coaches, we cover a lot of ground in this typically wide-ranging episode. Enjoy :)

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Anna Codrea-Rado (Author & Podcaster) on Writing, Careers & The Changing Nature of Work

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 10:38:19 +0000

This week we’ve got another in-betweenisode because our diaries didn’t match up for us to record a podcast so we’re releasing an interview that Ali recently did with journalist, author and podcaster Anna Codrea-Rado. Anna worked for VICE and the Guardian before going freelance 4 years ago and her articles now appear in the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, Wired, the Atlantic, Vice, and loads of others. She’s just released her first book entitled “You’re the Business: How to build a successful career when you strike out alone” which focusses on working for yourself and offers insights she’s learnt since she went freelance in 2017. Ali spoke with her about the world of work, careers, the challenges she faced going alone and how she hopes the book can help those who want to follow a similar path. It’s a really interesting discussion because Ali and Anna both made similar decisions in terms of starting their own businesses but obviously in very different sectors so I hope you find this interesting. We’ll be back with a full episode next week.

Links

You're The Business (Anna's Book)

Anna's Twitter, Website, LinkedIn, Instagram.

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How should we treat children? (A Brief Discussion)

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 09:55:08 +0000

In this short episode, we continue our recent discussions around how kids are treated in society. We talk about a recent post by Duncan Sabien which raises four main points about how we treat, or should treat, children and talk about how it relates to our own experience as kids. After a brief update about Ali’s latest gaming troubles, we bring the episode to an early end. We’ll be back with a longer episode next week.

Links

Duncan Sabien Post

-------------------------

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Toxic Productivity, Competition & Framing Work

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 08:32:44 +0000

After a week away, we’re back with a typically wide-ranging episode. Our discussion ranges from toxic productivity to mindsets around competition and competitiveness to how we should frame the abstract nature of work that we ‘have’ to do. Ali’s also looking for a name for his new stationary brand so if you have any suggestions then please send them in. Thank you for listening and please leave us a review if you can. Enjoy.

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Brandon Sanderson (Best-Selling Author) on Writing, Careers and Finding Your Passion

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:24:32 +0000

Hey everyone - another bit of an 'in-between'-isode this week. In this episode, Ali talks to Brandon Sanderson - his favourite author of all time. Brandon is a best-selling author who has written books that have sold millions of copies including the incredible fantasy books, Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. He also wrote the final 3 books of The Wheel of Time series. Brandon's output is legendary - he writes books almost faster than we can read them, and he teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. In this wide-ranging discussion, they not only discuss writing but also talk about finding your passion, creating enjoyment, business decisions and why Brandon wanted to work night shifts at a hotel when he was first starting out on his writing journey. Enjoy.

Brandon's Links

Website - https://www.brandonsanderson.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/BrandSanderson

Twitter - https://twitter.com/BrandSanderson

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brandsanderson/?hl=en

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Reflections on 100 Episodes

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 07:10:25 +0000

In this episode, we look back over the past two years of recording this podcast. We discuss why we think it’s lasted so long, reflect on how the podcast has changed over the two years since we began recording in March 2019 and finally consider whether we should think more about our target audience and we try to break down why people listen.

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Should we optimise our relationships?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 11:01:46 +0000

In this episode, we're joined by Joey Savoie, co-founder of Charity Entrepreneurship. Joey's an expert at 'spreadsheetising' all aspects of his life, including health, relationships and careers to have the biggest impact on the world. Our wide-ranging conversation discusses the extent to which we can (or should) quantify our lives, and Ali gets a lot of dating advice as well. Enjoy

Links

Charity Entrepreneurship

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Introverts, Extroverts and Identity Signals

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 10:59:38 +0000

In this episode, we begin by talking about Ali’s theory for what makes for a good blog post or YouTube video before a tweet from none other than Agnes Callard about introverts sends us down a path debating introversion, extroversion and signalling.

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Social Media and Sincerity

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about earnestness and sincerity when posting on social media. We discuss Ali’s decision to start writing online, why it feels different posting a blog post as opposed to publishing a YouTube video and how we each want to come across on Twitter. We also delve a little into Ali’s dating life and how we each deal with people reaching out to us.

-------------------------------------------

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Justin Kan (Twitch Co-Founder) on Entrepreneurship and Living a Meaningful Life

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 11:30:00 +0000

Hey everyone - a bit of an 'in-between'-isode this week. In this episode, Ali talks to Justin Kan a renowned internet entrepreneur, investor and founder and the co-founder of Twitch, the video game streaming platform. He's also helped found a number of other platforms including Socialcam, a mobile app for sharing video and is an active angel investor and mentor for many startups. They chat through a whole variety of things in this wide ranging discussion, we hope you enjoy it. We'll both be back next week :)

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Pity vs Sympathy

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 09:53:04 +0000

In this episode, we break down our feelings over the outpouring of nice comments that viewers kindly left on YouTube on our last episode. We touch on the difference between pity, sympathy and ‘feeling sorry’ for someone. Taimur feels strongly about this, Ali less so. We explore these feelings. (Apologies for the slight issue with the audio).

---------------------------------------------------

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Emotional Rollercoasters

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 08:37:13 +0000

In this episode, we explore some emotional rollercoasters we've both been on - Ali with regards to his book and reading mean comments online, and Taimur with regards to his startup and their narrative journey.

Links

Kevin Kwok Blog Post

Entrepreneur First

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Book Discussion: The Righteous Mind

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:02:17 +0000

In this episode, we discuss The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, which explores questions of morality. We take a look at the three principles about morality that form the basis of the book and why people have different understandings of right and wrong. We also briefly talk about Ali’s concerns and struggles with his YouTube channel.

Links

Shortform

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we be trying to build an online audience?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 09:04:05 +0000

This week we talk about the phenomenon of 'social media grifting' - trying to build an audience online through deliberate tactics. Most people think it's cringe, but we try to figure out whether it's objectionable. We also workshop Ali's book proposal.

Sponsored by Skillshare

This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

----------------------------------------

What is this?

Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models... Things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trying to be Confidently Wrong

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 08:30:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about epistemic humility - acknowledging the limitations of our beliefs. Taimur has recently made an effort to be *less* "epistemically humble" when he talks about things, and we into why.

--------------------------------------

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Join our Membership Community Thing

If you'd like to potentially join the Not Overthinking membership community thing (we discuss it halfway through this episode), please fill out your info here - https://airtable.com/shr1UZc8sWnhAEwJg

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion - The Tyranny of Merit

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:27:39 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Michael J Samuel's book the Tyranny of Merit, which talks about the problems with the ideals of Meritocracy. We take a look at the history of the Rhetoric of Rising, and end with a discussion about why praising people for their achievements feels problematic. Do we really respect people more because of their credentials?

Links

The Tyranny of Merit

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

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If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

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For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

----------------------------------------

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can we optimise for a meaningful life?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we're joined by Neel Nanda to discuss life optimisations, career choices, how to live in alignment with your own values and how to treat your relationships more intentionally. We discuss some of the principles behind how we can do the most good with our lives, while also being fulfilled and enjoying the journey.

Links

80000 Hours Key Ideas

Misconceptions about EA

Map of local EA groups

Neel's Blog

Neel's Top Posts

Neel's Post on Excitement & Motivation

If you want to read more about the ideas behind EA, Neel suggested these two books:

Doing Good Better

The Precipice

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Join our Membership Community Thing

If you'd like to potentially join the Not Overthinking membership community thing (we discuss it halfway through this episode), please fill out your info here - https://airtable.com/shr1UZc8sWnhAEwJg

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Misogyny, Generalisation and Controversial Topics

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 12:10:01 +0000

In this episode, we’re joined by our friend Sheen to discuss some complaints that a few listeners have raised over the years about this podcast having misogynistic undertones. We discuss some complaints about last week’s episode, and discuss the extent to which generalisation about groups (eg: women) is accurate and / or useful.

Links

Dream, Girl Podcast

The WOC Tribe

-----------------------------------------

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

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For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

----------------------------------------

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2020 Not Overthinking Highlights

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 22:43:18 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the highlights of the podcast from 2020, Ali shares some of the advice he's received about how to be better with women, and we try and figure out how to create a members community for listeners of the podcast.

Sponsored by Brilliant

Join our Membership Community Thing

If you'd like to potentially join the Not Overthinking membership community thing (we discuss it halfway through this episode), please fill out your info here - https://airtable.com/shr1UZc8sWnhAEwJg

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Probing Questions to Reflect on 2020

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 06:58:19 +0000

In this episode, we answer some reflective end-of-year review questions. We introspect about new ways we've had fun in 2020, new ways we've suffered in 2020, and what lessons we'd teach to others. Enjoy!

-------------------------------------

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do we want from life?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 19:16:43 +0000

In this episode, we discuss some thought-provoking questions designed to help us (and you) figure out what we want from life. This turns into a commitment we make to one another to consciously work towards our ‘rock star’ goals.

Links

The Forcing Function

Sponsored by Brilliant

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Disappointment, Seriousness and Sincerity

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 20:58:33 +0000

In this episode, Ali shares a disappointing moment from his week when System 1 thinking took hold of him. We then discuss Alan Watts' famous framing of life as a game with two modes of operation - serious vs sincere. Taimur shares some lessons from his therapy sessions, and we end with an elaborate description of a problematic meme. Enjoy!

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

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If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An Existential Crisis

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 07:23:12 +0000

In this episode, Taimur talks about the existential crisis that he's going through. We try and figure out what our real goals and motivations are for the things that we're doing.

Links

Venkatesh Rao Tweet

How to be a loser

Pain is not the unit of effort

Trying to Try

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How authentic are we on this podcast?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Ali moans about how he always comes across poorly in podcasts while Taimur always comes across well, and how this doesn't accurately represent how we are in real life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at skillshare.com/notoverthinkingpod.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John O'Nolan on Life as a Nomad, Ghost and Optimising for Happiness

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:15:42 +0000

John O'Nolan is the developer, founder and CEO at Ghost which he has grown to a $2.7m/year business. He has become a digital nomad in recent years and has been working remotely whilst travelling the world for well over a decade. John shares the lessons he’s learnt over the past decade, from setting up Ghost to successfully living the nomad life to why we should optimise for happiness rather than revenue.

Sponsored by Brilliant

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Austin Kleon on Writing, Creativity and The Importance of Idleness

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 15:12:14 +0000

This is an 'inbetweenasode' and features an interview Ali did with Austin Kleon as part of his Deep Dive series last month. Austin Kleon is the bestselling author of a trilogy of books about creativity and originality in the digital age. His three books - Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work! and Keep Going - have sold millions of copies around the world and inspired thousands of people, including myself. In their conversation they talked about Austin’s books, the value of writing daily and also the important balance between idleness and creativity.

Books Mentioned

How To Do Nothing

How To Be Idle

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Finite and Infinite Games

Documentaries Mentioned

Supermensch - The Legend of Shep Gordon

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Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it immoral to publicly share revenue numbers?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 20:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Taimur and Mack's setup of co-living in the Caribbean while Ali's stuck in rainy England. We then wonder aloud at length about whether Ali is a bad person for posting his revenue numbers on social media.

Sponsored by Brilliant

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion - The Psychology of Money Part 2

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 19:20:26 +0000

This is the second part of our discussion of Morgan Housel’s book The Psychology of Money. We continue to explore some of the key points, like the role that luck plays in success, why poor people buy lottery tickets, and the differences between getting wealthy and staying wealthy.

Links

The Psychology of Money

The Psychology of Money – Book Summary & Notes

Morgan Housel's Website

Morgan Housel's Twitter

Sponsored by Skillshare

This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at www.skillshare.com/notoverthinkingfor a 2-month free trial. It's a good alternative to YouTube.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion - The Psychology of Money

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Morgan Housel’s book The Psychology of Money. We explore some of the key points, like the role that luck plays in success, why poor people buy lottery tickets, and the differences between getting wealthy and staying wealthy.

Links

The Psychology of Money

The Psychology of Money – Book Summary & Notes

Morgan Housel's Website

Morgan Housel's Twitter

Sponsored by Brilliant

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Competitiveness and Mimetic Traps

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 11:19:05 +0000

This week we read and discuss Brian Timar’s excellent blog post entitled “Mimetic Traps”. We try and figure out when competitiveness is unproblematic and how we can avoid inheriting desires from other people.

Links

Mimetic Traps

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This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at www.skillshare.com/notoverthinking for a 2-month free trial. It's a good alternative to YouTube.

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Listen to for free

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Castro
Or, if you're using any other podcast app, search for "Not Overthinking" and you'll find us!

What is this?

Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models...things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dissatisfaction and Aspiration

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 11:48:19 +0000

In this episode, we start by discussing an insight Ali had about the nature of dissatisfaction and setting overly high standards for ourselves. We then turn to the start of a book discussion, where Taimur explains some of the theories he’s been reading around our values, how they change and how ‘rational’ our decision-making really is.

Links

Your Standards Are Too High by Neel Nanda

Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming by Agnes Callard

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone:)

Send us an Audio Message

Listen to for free

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Castro
Or, if you're using any other podcast app, search for "Not Overthinking" and you'll find us!

What is this?

Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models...things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we donate to charity because it "feels good"?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 09:40:47 +0000

In this episode, we discuss some of the concepts behind effective altruism with our friend Lucia. We touch on her motivations for setting up a public health charity, the Giving What We Can Pledge, and a few other curiosities. Enjoy!

Sponsored by Skillshare

This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at www.skillshare.com/notoverthinkingfor a 2-month free trial. It's a good alternative to YouTube.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone:)

Send us an Audio Message

Listen to for free

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Castro
Or, if you're using any other podcast app, search for "Not Overthinking" and you'll find us!

What is this?

Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models...things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion - The 4-Hour Work Week

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 20:21:10 +0000

Sponsored by Brilliant

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Send us an Audio Message

For any non-audio comments, drop us a tweet or DM on Twitter - https://twitter.com/noverthinking

---

What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bouncing Back, Finding Fulfilment and Being Productive ft. Noah Kagan

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:00:00 +0000

As we were away this week, this episode is an interview that Ali recorded with Noah Kagan as part of his Deep Dive series on YouTube. Noah is an entrepreneur, YouTuber, blogger and podcaster as well as being one of the first employees at Facebook. In this long-form interview, we talk about a variety of things including moving on from disappointment, finding satisfaction, productivity, goals and much more.

Links:

Notion Live Blog - https://www.notion.so/aliabdaal/Deep-Dive-Ali-Abdaal-x-Noah-Kagan-e9aa5b69dd124f09ab6b51033935dc9d

Sponsored by Skillshare

This episode is kindly supported by Skillshare. Sign up at www.skillshare.com/notoverthinkingfor a 2-month free trial. It's a good alternative to YouTube.

Leave us a Review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :)

Send us an Audio Message

Listen to for free

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Castro
Or, if you're using any other podcast app, search for "Not Overthinking" and you'll find us!

What is this? Not Overthinking is a podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. We talk about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models...things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Imposter Syndrome and Other Curiosities

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 22:40:52 +0000

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What is this?

Follow Not Overthinking on Twitter: https://twitter.com/noverthinking.

Who are we?

Ali is a junior doctor and YouTuber working in Cambridge, UK. He makes videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. His links: YouTube, Blog, Newsletter, Instagram

Taimur is a data scientist and writer, working on his own startup Causal. He writes on his blog and as a columnist for Medium. His links: Blog, Twitter, Medium, Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can we treat children morally? (Part 2)

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 22:08:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk some more about how we can treat children better. Specifically — what it means to "take children seriously", why we should take children more seriously, and how we can take children more seriously. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can we treat children morally? (Part 1)

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 21:35:34 +0000

In this episode, we review Ali's unemployment, talk about how to talk about workism, and Taimur finally elucidates some concrete ideas about how society treats children immorally, and how we treat children better. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reimagining our relationship with 'Work', ft. Paul Millerd

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 16:16:08 +0000

We're joined this week by Paul Millerd, who's spent a lot of time thinking, reading, and writing about 'work'. We talk about the current culture of 'work-ism', the history of work and how we ended up here, the assumptions that our culture makes about work, and how to reimagine our relationship with 'work' to live happier lives. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Friendships and Relationships ft. Valentin and Cliff

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 21:00:00 +0000

In this episode we chat to Valentin Perez and Cliff Weitzman about friendships, relationships, and the our ideas of the good life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Abusive Relationships of Productivity YouTubers

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 15:58:54 +0000

In this episode, we discuss one of Taimur's new fledgling theories about the nefarious parasocial relationships that exist between 'productivity' content creators and their audience. We try and figure out other areas in which this applies, and explore why Ali felt the need to unfollow the various instagram models he'd been previously enamoured with. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice - Part 3

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 14:48:20 +0000

This is the third and final part of our "68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice" series, where we go through an excellent blog post by Kevin Kelly, offering his life advice after turning 68. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to Understand Things

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 12 Jul 2020 21:34:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Nabeel Qureshi's recent blog post "How to Understand Things". We go through the post's main points, and talk about our own experiences of learning and understanding things, from school to university to today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Envy and The Elephant in the Brain

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

This episode is mostly a discussion of Robin Hanson's "The Elephant in the Brain", a book about the 'hidden motives in everyday lives'. We also go on a long tangent about envy, and our personal experience of it over the years. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How To Convince Your Friend To Start A Blog

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we explore we often fail to convince our friends to start having an online presence, and what a better approach might be. Possibly applicable to general "convincing" tasks as well. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice - Part 2

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we continue our exploration of Kevin Kelly’s 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Responses to our 'racism' episode

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode we discuss some of the responses we received to last week's episode ("Racism, Black Lives Matter, and Figuring Stuff Out"), from hate mail to not-hate mail. Ali also unveils his life plan for the next few years, and Taimur goes on a bit of a rant about "legibility". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Racism, Social Justice, and Figuring Stuff Out

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about the Black Lives Matter movement, social justice, and how our towards these issues have changed over the past few years. Please interpret charitably. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thinking as Children

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 31 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

We talk about Eric Weinstein’s recent podcast episode with his son, which sparks a discussion about how both of our thinking developed as kids and adults and why we should take kids more seriously. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 24 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This week, we dig into Kevin Kelly's recent blog post "68 bits of unsolicited advice". We go through the list and talk about a bunch of the advices (?) that resonate with us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 17 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This episode is Part 3 of 3 in our Transactional Analysis series (make sure you listen to the last 2 episodes before this one!). We dig into many of the different social games that people play: "If It Weren't For You", "Why Don't You — Yes, But", "Courtroom", "Uproar", "Blemish", and a few others. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Life Positions & Games - Transactional Analysis Part 2

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 10 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we continue our discussion about Transactional Analysis. We recap the Parent, Adult and Child zones of thinking that we mentioned last week, and move on to talking about the 4 different Life Positions and the Games People Play. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Parent, The Adult and The Child - A Discussion of Transactional Analysis

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 03 May 2020 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss transactional analysis. Taimur talks us through the ideas behind the theory, and how your internal mind can be split up into three parts - the Parent, Adult, and Child with examples taken from the book I'm Ok, You're Ok by Thomas Harris. Enjoy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Money, Stories, and Old People

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about a few different things — how to think about giving money to those in need, whether it's helpful to view our lives as stories, and how Taimur has been trying to develop more empathy with old people. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vision, Leadership and Winning the Lottery - An open-ended discussion

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode we take a ramble through a number of topics from statistics to value propositions to what we'd do if we won the lottery to Animal Crossing. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Principles of Productivity

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about Ali's favourite thing - productivity - much to Taimur's joy! Or, more precisely, we talk through the structure and some of the key points from Ali's upcoming Skillshare class on productivity including Parkinson's law, the Pareto principle amongst other myths, laws and principles... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Taimur Teaches Maths - The Flaw of Averages

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Taimur gives us a maths lesson. We learn about why it's bad to rely on 'averages' when making plans, and about how we can make better decisions by accounting for uncertainty. Sorry for the poor audio quality — Taimur had some technical difficulties this week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Note-taking and quarantining

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we mostly talk about note-taking — reasons to do it, and different systems and apps to facilitate it. We also talk about how quarantine life is going so far, and how we're trying to make the most of it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Not Overthinking: Coronavirus Edition

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about the only thing there is to talk about right now — the Coronavirus crisis. We look back over the past few weeks to see how our thinking about the virus has changed, and we try and figure out how to get ourselves to emotionally care about things that are distant from us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How would you spend your time if you knew you'd die in 2 years?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 13:00:00 +0000

This week we tackle the conundrum of "how would you spend your time if you knew you'd die in 2 years?" We discuss some of the different ways of framing and thinking about this question, and to what extent it can help figure out what we're doing with our lives. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Low Optionality and Adult Friendships

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about a few topics that Taimur's been noticing more and more — low social optionality (applied to adult friendships), the plight of kids in society, and treating your personal life like a business. We also touch on the ideology of social media lynch mobs/"haters". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

40 Concepts for Understanding the World - Tweet Discussion

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about @G_S_Bhogal's Twitter megathread of "40 powerful concepts for understanding the world". A whirlwind tour of a bunch of mental models that you may or may not have come across before. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Motivation, Complaining and Conversationality - A Critique of the Podcast

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This episode features Calum, a junior doctor working in Scotland who spent 6 years in medical school living with Ali. Calum has listened to every episode of the podcast so far, and shares some critique about the format, the vibe and some specifics about motivation, complaining and conversationality. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Margin, Dinner Parties and The Art of Gathering

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we continue to discuss the difficulties with recording a podcast each week, which turns into a conversation about margin & keeping afloat vs optimising for the long term. We then talk about a dinner party that Taimur hosted, which turns into a discussion about The Art of Gathering, a book that explores these issues in much greater detail. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion: The Wright Brothers

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 23:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we summarise "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. It's a biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright, best known for inventing the airplane. It contains timeless themes relevant to any and all forms of human endeavour, so in addition to being an amazing story about a turning point for the human race, there's a lot we can learn from it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Does travel really broaden our horizons?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode (recorded on a car journey, sorry for the audio quality), we discuss the extent to which travelling, and living in different countries for extended time periods, actually broadens our horizons. Our guest Suhail talks about his experiences moving to the UK from Pakistan, and then Suhail and Taimur discuss the ways in which living in the USA has (or hasn't) broadened their own life perspectives. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion - The Courage to be Disliked

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we summarise "The Courage to be Disliked" by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. It's one of the very few books that Taimur's actually read, and the concepts it presents are provocative and go against a lot of the dominant narratives of the current cultural milieu. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Words that changed our lives

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 23:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we each talk about 3 words/phrases that have changed the way we think about things and see the world. We touch on Taimur's new addiction to David Dobrik's vlogs, and Ali doesn't stop going on about a magic convention that he attended this weekend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Lad" Culture - An Insider's Perspective

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we have a guest appearance from Jake, a junior doctor and recovering "lad". We discuss the meaning of being a "lad", the experience from inside the group and the feelings of those of us who feel implicitly excluded from boisterous, alcohol-heavy group dynamics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2019: The Not Overthinking Review

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In (by far) our longest episode yet, we look back on 2019. First, we go through the Not Overthinking catalogue — we talk about the episodes that stood out to us (both good and bad!) and our key takeaways from each. Then, we reflect on how 2019 went for us personally — we each dig into 3 areas of personal growth that we had this year. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Social Interactions - Comfort, Messaging and Life Enjoyment

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss our favourite topic - Social Interaction - from the lenses of (1) comfort, (2) etiquettes of messaging and (3) the pinnacle of the human condition. We wonder about the value of a minimalist messaging policy, and try and figure out why we find it easier to get on with non-white people. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to get rich (without getting lucky) - Tweet Discussion

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss a Tweetstorm entitled "How to get rich (without getting lucky)" by Naval Ravikant. We touch on (1) wealth vs money, (2) financial freedom, (3) long-term thinking, (4) leverage, and (5) becoming the best in the world at what you do. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

External appearances vs internal experiences

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode we talk about the external appearances of different lifestyles and how they differ from the internal experience of living them. We also dig into Ali's mindset when it comes to YouTube and business, and whether it's best to always be thinking about creating economic value. Honestly, we talk about quite a few different things in this episode without much of an overarching theme. Oh well! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inner Rings - The Desire to Fit In

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 04:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss our desire to fit in, to be part of the 'cool kids' group, to be part of what CS Lewis calls "The Inner Ring". We share some instances in our own life when we've succumbed to this desire, and discuss whether it's ever acceptable to be exclusivist in our circles. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Intentional Socialising

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode we talk about how we socialise — the different types of social events we take part in, and how we take part in them. We talk about how we, for the most part, leave our social life down to chance, and we try and find ways to be more intentional about how we socialise. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Being Weird

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 10 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode we talk about 'being weird'. We explore the merits of being weird, the different ways in which people can be weird, and some of our personal experiences. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Conflict and Communication - The Roommate Relationship ft. Molly

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Taimur acts as a relationship therapist and digs into the (strictly platonic, for the record) relationship between Ali and his roommate Molly. We discuss our feelings about living with one another, things about Ali that wind Molly up, causes of conflict in the relationship, tips for effectively communicating grievances and a wholesome segment where we discuss the things we've learned from each other. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Treating your personal life like a business

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 22:15:00 +0000

In this episode we talk about a new theory of Taimur's — that we should treat our personal lives more like businesses, and treat our businesses more personally. We explore two aspects of "business thinking" in particular — valuing time + comparing options in terms of ROI (return on investing), and thinking in terms of systems — and how to apply them in our lives. We try and figure out why it generally feels weird to have systems for personal things. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Small Talk & Social Awkwardness

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Ali tells us about a party(!) he recently attended, and how he approached the social interactions there. We talk about how we approach conversations with new people, whether it's okay to talk about "work" at social events, and, of course, the idea of "small talk". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book Discussion: "The Magic of Thinking Big"

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we try a brand new format! We go through Ali's Kindle highlights, from 4 years ago, from the book "The Magic of Thinking Big". We end up talking about mental restraints, making good conversation, setting goals, and a smattering of other topics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Will a new iPhone make us happier?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we try to formulate an algorithm for buying new tech. We try to figure out when it's worth upgrading our iPhones, and how to think about new purchases in terms of their contribution to our overall happiness. We come up with several new mental models for thinking about consumerism, and reference the concepts of measure, diminishing returns and hedonic adaptation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Invisible Shackles & Life Scripts

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 03:00:00 +0000

As we grow, we're subconsciously exposed to various 'life scripts' that can have a profound effect on the way we lead our lives, without any conscious control on our own part. In this episode, we discuss some of the invisible shackles that bind us, and how to 'break free' from default modes of thinking to carve our own path through life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do we want from this podcast?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we reflect on what we've been doing for the past 6 months with this podcast. We talk about why we took a break last week, whether we should have an episode every week vs every 2 weeks, and how we should judge the quality of our episodes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's it like to be internet-famous? Ft. Sara Dietschy

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 11:00:00 +0000

This week we're joined by a very special guest — Sara Dietschy, tech and creativity Youtuber and podcaster (links in the full show notes). In this episode, Taimur interviews Sara and Ali about being "internet famous" and how they feel about it — getting recognised in public, doing meetups, and everything else. Huge thank you to Sara for joining us this week! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is being negative ever acceptable?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss whether negativity is ever okay. Taimur discusses why he didn't like an Ed Sheeran concert we attended, and we try and figure out whether expressing negative views about stuff / complaining about stuff is ever justified, and if so, to what extent. We invent an acronym NDA (neutral, dispassionate analysis) and Taimur comes up with Vibe Theory as a way of helping us make decisions about this stuff. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Birds, Supersonic Jets, Internet Businesses and Trophy Hunting

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Taimur and Ali feature as guests on the Episode Party podcast. Along with hosts Jack and Freddie, we discuss an episode of (1) The Casual Birder, (2) Indie Hackers, (3) Should This Exist, and (4) Radiolab. We share our thoughts on each of these episodes, and discuss some of the ways in which they changed our thinking. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we make friends?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the various strategies we use to make friends. We start at primary school (aged 4) and examine how our tactics for making friends changed over time to the present day. We lament the difficulty of making friends and of showing vulnerability, and we realise that Taimur was always desperate to be cool while Ali was just always really weird. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Procrastination, Money-making, Rejection etc - Answering your Questions

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

This episode is a Life Advice Q&A that Taimur and Ali did as part of Ali's 300,000 YouTube subscriber milestone video. We answer questions about startups, procrastination, motivation, productivity, money-making, rejection, investments, imposter syndrome and hair loss. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Startups, Coding and Making Money Online - An Interview with Taimur

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Ali interviews Taimur about his life. We discuss how he learned to code, how he made money online by selling psychic readings, and how he uses Twitter to explore fame and fortune. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How should we give advice?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode we talk about whether we should give advice to others, and if so, how to go about it. Do we have a moral imperative to offer advice to our friends if we think they're doing the wrong thing? Or should we simply 'let it be'? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is ambition a virtue?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we tackle the issue of ambition. What does it mean to be ambitious? Why do so many of us look for 'ambition' in a spouse? Why are some activities considered inherently more 'ambitious' than others? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we seek permission?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we address a question from a listener. She wants to become a content creator but is concerned that because she isn't 'qualified', no one will care what she has to say. This turns into a discussion about how society is wired to implicitly convince us that we need permission before we can do stuff. We discuss 'The Myth of the Expert' and 'The Curse of the Expert', and offer some advice for anyone who's ever struggled with imposter syndrome. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ali's Journey on YouTube [Inbetweenasode]

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

This 'inbetweenasode' is an interview that Ali did on the Social Colours podcast: 'Journey of a Creator'. They talk about how he got started with YouTube, the strategy behind growing his channel, and his inspirations along the way. They also share some thoughts about the motivation and consistency it takes to keep a YouTube channel alive and growing. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it mean to be authentic?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 09:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about authenticity — "keeping it real". Taimur tries, with difficulty, to explain why he thinks there's something deeper to authenticity than what everyone already knows and feels: that it's nice to have authentic interactions with other people. We talk about the different situations in which we behave authentically to varying degrees, the characteristics of certain interactions that make them feel authentic, and, of course, some hacks to making interactions more authentic. We have a lot of difficulty defining what it means to be "authentic", and we don't quite reach the profound insight that Taimur was hoping to get to, but this is probably something we'll revisit in a future episode. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to deal with Rejection

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

This week we talk about rejection. We dig into a rejection that Taimur recently faced, and then explore the various rejections we've both faced in our lives — how we felt about them, what we took from them, and how we can improve the way we handle rejection. Among other things, Ali takes us on a tour of his life's romantic rejections, and Taimur regrets not putting himself out there enough to be able to give a romantic rejection tour. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How much of our behaviour is status-seeking?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the concept of social status, and wonder to what extent the signalling of status contributes to our own behaviours. We talk about how our schoolboy days were defined by status games, and think about how we might work to minimise our psyche’s reliance on social capital. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can we get into the habit of reading?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 26 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

This week we discuss the challenges of developing a reading habit. Taimur shares his struggles with starting books and never finishing them, lamenting the small role of reading in his life. Ali offers some advice on how to read more regularly, and we share some book recommendations for listeners. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we struggle with motivation?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 19 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

This episode is all about motivation. We start by introducing our ideal state of 'motivation is a myth' and the idea that discipline is all we *should* need to get stuff done. But then having recognised this, we spend the rest of the episode discussing both high-level strategy and low-level hacks for motivating ourselves to get stuff done. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What makes an awkward silence?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 12 May 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about awkward silences, why we think they happen, how we can stop them happening and whether we should stop them happening at all. We try and understand why we're more comfortable with some people than others, and why car journeys and sleepovers are a great source of deep conversation and human connection. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Time management, motivation, productivity etc [Inbetweenasode]

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 05 May 2019 19:00:00 +0000

In this Inbetweenasode, Ali answers various questions relating to motivation, productivity, time management and that sort of stuff. It's a bit cheeky because we didn't record a proper episode, but given the need for consistency, we thought we'd repurpose one of his old YouTube videos (50k Q&A) to get a podcast episode out this week. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How should we take advice?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

We all love getting advice from our audience, our mentors, our seniors, our listeners. In this episode, we discuss some of the feedback we've got about the podcast so far and wonder to what extent we should change things up based on advice. We then generalise this to general life - how should we take advice effectively without over-correcting our internal models based on individual pieces of advice? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we love our jobs?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

This is the first episode that features a guest! Paul Tern, a Cambridge-grad junior doctor who works in London, joins the discussion about why we love our jobs. We start off with some meandering around the history of the 'I want to enjoy my job' mentality, and then share our personal experiences and philosophies about what it means to have fun at work. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why should you invest in a good kitchen bin?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we explore "Measure" — a mental model for spending time and money more effectively. Based on this framework, we conclude that everyone should get a good kitchen bin and a voice coach, and that Ali probably shouldn't get a Tesla. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we struggle with consistency?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode we discuss how consistency in almost every domain is a super power, and come to a few conclusions about what helps us be more consistent with things like morning routines, gym workouts and writing practices. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we hate networking events?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss why we hate networking events but love group holidays, and we try and figure out how to better connect with our fellow human beings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why are we scared to put ourselves out there?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 24 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discuss why we were (once) scared to put ourselves out there and how we overcame that fear. Send us your thoughts — hi@notoverthinking.com! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we like to be correct?

Ali & Taimur Abdaal — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

In this pilot episode of Not Overthinking, we discuss our reasons for starting the podcast, and then have a chat about why we feel the urge to be correct in everyday conversation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.